Russian President Vladimir Putin is self-isolating after members of his entourage fell ill with Covid-19 and will therefore not travel to Tajikistan this week for planned regional security meetings, the Kremlin said.
Mr Putin, 68, was due to travel to Tajikistan for high-level meetings of the CSTO and SCO regional alliances with the rapid deterioration of security in neighbouring Afghanistan in focus.
The Kremlin said in a statement that Mr Putin hadcalled Tajikistan's President Emomali Rakhmon to explain he could not travel due to his self-isolation regime and would take part in the meetings via video link instead. "Putin said that due to cases of coronavirus in his entourage, he has to observe a self-isolation regime for a certain period